Medical tele-robotic system

ABSTRACT

A robotic system that includes a remote controlled robot. The robot may include a camera, a monitor and a holonomic platform all attached to a robot housing. The robot may be controlled by a remote control station that also has a camera and a monitor. The remote control station may be linked to a base station that is wirelessly coupled to the robot. The cameras and monitors allow a care giver at the remote location to monitor and care for a patient through the robot. The holonomic platform allows the robot to move about a home or facility to locate and/or follow a patient.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The subject matter disclosed generally relates to the field ofrobotics used in the medical field.

[0003] 2. Background Information

[0004] There is a growing need to provide remote health care to patientsthat have a variety of ailments ranging from Alzheimers to stressdisorders. To minimize costs it is desirable to provide home care forsuch patients. Home care typically requires a periodic visit by a healthcare provider such as a nurse or some type of assistant. Due tofinancial and/or staffing issues the health care provider may not bethere when the patient needs some type of assistance. Additionally,existing staff must be continuously trained, which can create a burdenon training personnel. It would be desirable to provide a system thatwould allow a health care provider to remotely care for a patientwithout being physically present.

[0005] Robots have been used in a variety of applications ranging fromremote control of hazardous material to assisting in the performance ofsurgery. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,458 issued to Wang et al.discloses a system that allows a surgeon to perform minimally invasivemedical procedures through the use of robotically controlledinstruments. There have also been developed “toy” robots for home use.Such robots typically have a relatively simple movement platform andsome type of speech synthesis for generating words and sounds. It wouldbe desirable to provide a robotic system that would allow for remotepatient monitoring and assistance.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] A robot that may include a camera and a monitor that are attachedto a housing. The robot may also have a platform that is attached to thehousing and coupled to a controller. The controller may be coupled to abroadband interface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007]FIG. 1 is an illustration of a robotic system;

[0008]FIG. 2 is a schematic of an electrical system of a robot;

[0009]FIG. 3 is a further schematic of the electrical system of therobot;

[0010]FIG. 4 is an illustration of a robot with an arm in an upwardposition;

[0011]FIG. 5 is an illustration of the robot with the arm in a lowerposition;

[0012]FIG. 6 is an illustration of a holonomic platform of the robot;

[0013]FIG. 7 is an illustration of a roller assembly of the holonomicplatform;

[0014]FIG. 8 is an illustration of an arm assembly of the robot;

[0015]FIG. 9 is an illustration of a gripper assembly of the arm;

[0016]FIG. 10 is a schematic of a battery recharger for the robot;

[0017]FIG. 11 is a vector diagram that may be used to compute movementof the robot.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] Disclosed is a robotic system that includes a remote controlledrobot. The robot may include a camera, a monitor and a holonomicplatform all attached to a robot housing. The robot may be controlled bya remote control station that also has a camera and a monitor. Theremote control station may be linked to a base station that iswirelessly coupled to the robot. The cameras and monitors allow a caregiver at the remote location to monitor and care for a patient throughthe robot. The holonomic platform allows the robot to move about a homeor facility to locate and/or follow a patient.

[0019] Referring to the drawings more particularly by reference numbers,FIG. 1 shows a robotic system 10. The robotic system 10 includes a robot12, a base station 14 and a remote control station 16. The remotecontrol station 16 may be coupled to the base station 14 through anetwork 18. By way of example, the network 18 may be either a packetswitched network such as the Internet, or a circuit switched networksuch has a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) or other broadbandsystem. The base station 14 may be coupled to the network 18 by a modem20 or other broadband network interface device.

[0020] The remote control station 16 may include a computer 22 that hasa monitor 24, a camera 26, a microphone 28 and a speaker 30. Thecomputer 22 may also contain an input device 32 such as a joystick or amouse. The control station 16 is typically located in a place that isremote from the robot 12. Although only one remote control station 16 isshown, the system 10 may include a plurality of remote stations.Additionally, although only one robot 12 is shown, it is to beunderstood that the system 10 may have a plurality of robots 12. Ingeneral any number of robots 12 may be controlled by any number ofremote stations. For example, one remote station 16 may be coupled to aplurality of robots 12, or one robot 12 may be coupled to a plurality ofremote stations 16.

[0021] The robot 12 includes a movement platform 34 that is attached toa robot housing 36. Also attached to the robot housing 36 are a camera38, a monitor 40, a microphone(s) 42 and a speaker 44. The microphone 42and speaker 30 may create a stereophonic sound. The robot 12 may alsohave an antennae 44 that is wirelessly coupled to an antennae 46 of thebase station 14. The system 10 allows a user at the remote controlstation 16 to move the robot 12 through the input device 32. The robotcamera 38 is coupled to the remote monitor 24 so that a user at theremote station 16 can view a patient. Likewise, the robot monitor 40 iscoupled to the remote camera 26 so that the patient can view the user.The microphones 28 and 42, and speakers 30 and 44, allow for audiblecommunication between the patient and the user.

[0022] The remote station computer 22 may operate Microsoft OS softwareand WINDOWS XP or other operating systems such as LINUX. The remotecomputer 22 may also operate a video driver, a camera driver, an audiodriver and a joystick driver. The video images may be transmitted andreceived with compression software such as MPEG CODEC.

[0023]FIGS. 2 and 3 show an embodiment of the robot 12. The robot 12 mayinclude a high level control system 50 and a low level control system52. The high level control system 50 may include a processor 54 that isconnected to a bus 56. The bus is coupled to the camera 38 by aninput/output (I/O) port 58, and to the monitor 40 by a serial outputport 60 and a VGA driver 62. The monitor 40 may include a touchscreenfunction that allows the patient to enter input by touching the monitorscreen.

[0024] The speaker 44 is coupled to the bus 56 by a digital to analogconverter 64. The microphone 42 is coupled to the bus 56 by an analog todigital converter 66. The high level controller 50 may also containrandom access memory (RAM) device 68, a non-volatile RAM device 70 and amass storage device 72 that are all coupled to the bus 62. The massstorage device 72 may contain medical files of the patient that can beaccessed by the user at the remote control station 16. For example, themass storage device 72 may contain a picture of the patient. The user,particularly a health care provider, can recall the old picture and makea side by side comparison on the monitor 24 with a present video imageof the patient provided by the camera 38. The robot antennae 44 may becoupled to a wireless transceiver 74. By way of example, the transceiver74 may transmit and receive information in accordance with IEEE 802.11a.

[0025] The controller 54 may operate with a LINUX OS operating system.The controller 54 may also operate X WINDOWS along with video, cameraand audio drivers for communication with the remote control station 16.Video information may be transceived using MPEG CODEC compressiontechniques. The software may allow the user to send e-mail to thepatient and vice versa, or allow the patient to access the Internet. Ingeneral the high level controller 50 operates to control thecommunication between the robot 12 and the remote control station 16.

[0026] The high level controller 50 may be linked to the low levelcontroller 52 by serial ports 76 and 78. The low level controller 52includes a processor 80 that is coupled to a RAM device 82 andnon-volatile RAM device 84 by a bus 86. The robot 12 contains aplurality of motors 88 and motor encoders 90. The encoders 90 providefeedback information regarding the output of the motors 88. The motors88 can be coupled to the bus 86 by a digital to analog converter 92 anda driver amplifier 94. The encoders 90 can be coupled to the bus 86 by adecoder 96. The robot 12 also has a number of proximity sensors 98 (seealso FIG. 1). The position sensors 98 can be coupled to the bus 86 by asignal conditioning circuit 100 and an analog to digital converter 102.

[0027] The low level controller 52 runs software routines thatmechanically actuate the robot 12. For example, the low level controller52 provides instructions to actuate the movement platform to move therobot 12, or to actuate an arm of the robot. The low level controller 52may receive movement instructions from the high level controller 50. Themovement instructions may be received as movement commands from theremote control station. Although two controllers are shown, it is to beunderstood that the robot 12 may have one controller controlling thehigh and low level functions.

[0028] The various electrical devices of the robot 12 may be powered bya battery(ies) 104. The battery 104 may be recharged by a batteryrecharger station 106 (see also FIG. 1). The low level controller 52 mayinclude a battery control circuit 108 that senses the power level of thebattery 104. The low level controller 52 can sense when the power fallsbelow a threshold and then send a message to the high level controller50. The high level controller 50 may include a power management softwareroutine that causes the robot 12 to move so that the battery 104 iscoupled to the recharger 106 when the battery power falls below athreshold value. Alternatively, the user can direct the robot 12 to thebattery recharger 106. Additionally, the battery may be replaced or therobot 12 may be coupled to a wall power outlet by an electrical cord(not shown).

[0029]FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of the robot 12. The robot 12 mayinclude a holonomic platform 110 that is attached to a robot housing112. The holonomic platform 110 allows the robot 12 to move in anydirection. Although not shown the robot housing 112 may include bumpers.

[0030] The robot 12 may have an arm 114 that supports the camera 38 andmonitor 40. The arm 114 may have two degrees of freedom so that thecamera 26 and monitor 24 can be moved from an upper position shown inFIG. 4 to a lower position shown in FIG. 5. The arm 114 may have an endeffector 116 such as a gripper that can grasp objects.

[0031] The robot 12 may include a drawer 118 that can automatically movebetween a closed position and an open position. The drawer 118 can beused to dispense drugs to a patient. For example, the drawer 118 mayinclude a drug(s) that must be taken at a certain time. The robot 12 maybe programmed so that the drawer 118 is opened at the desired time. Anurse or other health care provider may periodically “load” the drawer118. The robot may also have a battery recharger port 119. Althoughdrugs are described, it is to be understood that the drawer 118 couldhold any item.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 6 the holonomic platform 110 may include threeroller assemblies 120 that are mounted to a base plate 122. The rollerassemblies 120 are typically equally spaced about the platform 110 andallow for movement in any direction.

[0033]FIG. 7 shows an embodiment of a roller assembly 120. Each assembly120 may include a drive ball 124 that is driven by a pair oftransmission rollers 126. The assembly 120 includes a retainer ring 128and a plurality of bushings 130 that allow the ball 124 to rotate in anx and y direction but prevents movement in a z direction.

[0034] The transmission rollers 126 are coupled to a motor assembly 132.The assembly 132 corresponds to the motor 88 shown in FIG. 3. The motorassembly 132 includes an output pulley 134 attached to a motor 136. Theoutput pulley 134 is coupled to a pair of ball pulleys 138 by a drivebelt 140. The ball pulleys 138 are attached to drive pins 142 that areattached to a transmission bracket 144. The transmission rollers 126 areattached to a transmission bracket 144 by a roller pin 146. Thetransmission brackets 144 each have a pin 143 that is supported by apart of the housing.

[0035] Rotation of the output pulley 134 rotates the ball pulleys 138.Rotation of the ball pulleys 138 causes the transmission rollers 126 torotate and spin the ball 124 through frictional forces. Spinning theball 124 will move the robot 12. The drive balls 126 are out of phase sothat one of the balls 126 is always in contact with ball 124. The rollerpin 146 and bracket 144 allow the transmission rollers 126 to freelyspin and allow orthoganal directional passive movement when one of theother roller assemblies 120 is driving and moving the robot 12.

[0036]FIGS. 8 and 9 show an embodiment of the arm 114. The arm 114 mayinclude a first linkage 150 that is pivotally mounted to a fixed plate152 of the robot housing 12. The arm 114 may also include a secondlinkage 154 that is pivotally connected to the first linkage 150 and athird linkage 156 that is pivotally connected to the second linkage 154.

[0037] The first linkage 150 may be coupled to a first motor 158 andmotor encoder 160 by a gear assembly 162. Rotation of the motor 158 willcause a corresponding pivotal movement of the linkage 150 and arm 114.The linkage 150 may be coupled to the fixed plate 152 by a bearing 164.

[0038] The second linkage 154 may be coupled to a second motor 166 andencoder 168 by a gear assembly 170 and a pulley assembly 172. The pulleyassembly 172 may be connected to the gear assembly 170 by a pin 174 thatextends through the gear assembly 162 of the first motor 158. The secondlinkage 154 may be attached to a pin 176 that can spin relative to thefirst linkage 150. The pulley assembly 172 may have a belt 178 thatcouples a pair of pulleys 180 and 182 that are attached to pins 174 and176, respectively. Pin 176 may be coupled to the first linkage 150 bybearings 182. The arm 114 is configured to allow wires 183 to beinternally routed through the linkages 150, 154 and 156.

[0039] The third linkage 156 may be connected to a pin 184 that can spinrelative to the second linkage 154. The pin 184 may be coupled to thesecond linkage 154 by a bearing assembly 186. The third linkage 156 maybe structurally coupled to the first linkage 150 by a pair of pulleyassemblies 188. The pulley assembly 188 insures a horizontal position ofthe third linkage 156 no matter what position the first 150 and second154 linkages are in. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 the third linkage 156 isalways in a horizontal position. This insures that the camera 26 isalways in the same orientation, thus reducing the possibility ofdisorientation at the remote control station when viewing the patient.

[0040] The gripper 116 is attached to the third linkage 156. The gripper116 may include a pair of fingers 190 that are pivotally attached to abase plate 192. The fingers 190 are coupled to a motor 194 and encoder196 by a gear assembly 198. The base plate 192 is coupled to the thirdlinkage 156 by a bearing assembly 200. The motor 194 can spin the baseplate 192 and fingers 192 relative to the third linkage 156.

[0041] The gripper 116 may further have a push rod 202 that can engagecam surfaces 204 of the fingers 190 to move the gripper fingers 190between open and closed positions. The push rod 202 may be coupled to amotor 206 and encoder (not shown) by a linkage assembly 208. Actuationof the motor 206 will translate the push rod 202 and move the fingers190. The motor 206 may have a force sensor that provides force feedbackback to the remote control station. The input device of the remotecontrol station may have a force feedback mechanism so that the userfeels the force being exerted onto the gripper fingers 190.

[0042] In operation, the robot 12 may be placed in a home or a facilitywhere one or more patients are to be monitored and/or assisted. Thefacility may be a hospital or a residential care facility. By way ofexample, the robot 12 may be placed in a home where a health careprovider may monitor and/or assist the patient. Likewise, a friend orfamily member may communicate with the patient. The cameras and monitorsat both the robot and remote control station allow for teleconferencingbetween the patient and the person at the remote station.

[0043] The robot 12 can be maneuvered through the home or facility bymanipulating the input device 32 at the remote station 16. The robot 12may also have autonomous movement. For example, the robot 12 may beprogrammed to automatically move to a patients room at a certain time todispense drugs in the drawer 118 without input from the remote station16. The robot 12 can be programmed to monitor and/or assist a patient 24hours a day, 7 days a week. Such a monitoring capability is enhanced bythe autonomous recharging function of the robot.

[0044] The robot 10 may be controlled by a number of different users. Toaccommodate for this the robot may have an arbitration system. Thearbitration system may be integrated into the operating system of therobot 12. For example, the arbitration technique may be embedded intothe operating system of the high-level controller 50.

[0045] By way of example, the, users may be divided into classes thatinclude the robot itself, a local user, a caregiver, a doctor, a familymember, or a service provider. The robot may override input commandsthat conflict with robot operation. For example, if the robot runs intoa wall, the system may ignore all additional commands to continue in thedirection of the wall. A local user is a person who is physicallypresent with the robot. The robot could have an input device that allowslocal operation. For example, the robot may incorporate a voicerecognition system that receives and interprets audible commands.

[0046] A caregiver is someone who remotely monitors the patient. Adoctor is a medical professional who can remotely control the robot andalso access medical files contained in the robot memory. The family andservice users remotely access the robot. The service user may servicethe system such as by upgrading software, or setting operationalparameters.

[0047] Message packets may be transmitted between a robot 12 and aremote station 16. The packets provide commands and feedback. Eachpacket may have multiple fields. By way of example, a packet may includean ID field a forward speed field, an angular speed field, a stop field,a bumper field, a sensor range field, a configuration field, a textfield and a debug field.

[0048] The identification of remote users can be set in an ID field ofthe information that is transmitted from the remote control station 16to the robot 12. For example, a user may enter a user ID into a setuptable in the application software run by the remote control station 16.The user ID is then sent with each message transmitted to the robot.

[0049] The robot 12 may operate in one of two different modes; anexclusive mode, or a sharing mode. In the exclusive mode only one userhas access control of the robot. The exclusive mode may have a priorityassigned to each type of user. By way of example, the priority may be inorder of local, doctor, caregiver, family and then service user. In thesharing mode two or more users may share access with the robot. Forexample, a caregiver may have access to the robot, the caregiver maythen enter the sharing mode to allow a doctor to also access the robot.Both the caregiver and the doctor can conduct a simultaneoustele-conference with the patient.

[0050] The arbitration scheme may have one of four mechanisms;notification, timeouts, queue and call back. The notification mechanismmay inform either a present user or a requesting user that another userhas, or wants, access to the robot. The timeout mechanism gives certaintypes of users a prescribed amount of time to finish access to therobot. The queue mechanism is an orderly waiting list for access to therobot. The call back mechanism informs a user that the robot can beaccessed. By way of example, a family user may receive an e-mail messagethat the robot is free for usage. Tables 1 and 2, show how themechanisms resolve access request from the various users. TABLE ISoftware/ Access Medical Command Debug Set User Control Record OverrideAccess Priority Robot No No Yes (1) No No Local No No Yes (2) No NoCaregiver Yes Yes Yes (3) No No Doctor No Yes No No No Family No No NoNo No Service Yes No Yes Yes Yes

[0051] TABLE II Requesting User Local Caregiver Doctor Family ServiceCurrent Local Not Allowed Warn current user Warn current user Warncurrent user of Warn current user of User of pending user of pendinguser pending user pending user Notify requesting Notify requesting userNotify requesting user Notify requesting user that system is that systemis in use that system is in use user that system is in use Set timeout =5 m Set timeout = 5 m in use Set timeout Call back No timeout Call backCaregiver Warn current user Not Allowed Warn current user Warn currentuser Warn current user of pending user of pending user of pending userof pending user Notify requesting Notify requesting user Notifyrequesting user Notify requesting user that system is that system is inuse that system is in use user that system is in use. Set timeout = 5 mSet timeout = 5 m in use Release control Queue or callback No timeoutCallback Doctor Warn current user Warn current user Warn current userNotify requesting user Warn current user of of pending user of pendinguser of pending user that system is in use pending user Notifyrequesting Notify requesting Notify requesting user No timeout Notifyrequesting user that system is user that system is that system is in useQueue or callback user that system is in use in use No timeout in useRelease control Set timeout = 5 m Callback No timeout Callback FamilyWarn current user Notify requesting Warn current user Warn current userWarn current user of pending user user that system is of pending user ofpending user of pending user Notify requesting in use Notify requestinguser Notify requesting user Notify requesting user that system is Notimeout that system is in use that system is in use user that system isin use Put in queue or Set timeout = 1 m Set timeout = 5 m in useRelease Control callback Queue or callback No timeout Callback ServiceWarn current user Notify requesting Warn current user of Warn currentuser Not Allowed of pending user user that system is request of pendinguser Notify requesting in use Notify requesting user Notify requestinguser user that system is No timeout that system is in use that system isin use in use Callback No timeout No timeout No timeout Callback Queueor callback

[0052] The information transmitted between the station 16 and the robot12 may be encrypted. Additionally, the user may have to enter a passwordto enter the system 10. A selected robot is then given an electronic keyby the station 16. The robot 12 validates the key and returns anotherkey to the station 16. The keys are used to encrypt informationtransmitted in the session.

[0053]FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of a battery recharger. The robot port119 may include a secondary winding 250 that is magnetically coupled toa primary winding 252 of the battery recharger station 106. The primarywinding 252 is coupled to an electrical outlet plug 254 by a relaycircuit 256, a fuse 258 and a switch 260. The relay 256 is controlled bya recharger controller 262.

[0054] The recharger controller 262 is connected to a recharger infrared(IR) transceiver 264. The recharger IR transceiver 264 is coupled to arobot IR transceiver 266. The robot IR transceiver 266 is connected tothe low level controller 52. The robot 10 may also have an alignmentsensor 268 that can sense a target 270 on the station 106. By way ofexample, the sensor 268 may include an optical emitter and receiver thatdetects a light beam reflected from the target 270. The controller 52may also sense a current flow into the battery 104 to determine whetherthe robot 12 is aligned with the docking station 106.

[0055] The secondary windings 250 are connected to the battery 104 by acharger circuit 272. The secondary 250 and primary 252 windings may eachhave wires 274 wrapped about a magnetic core 276. The station 106 mayalso have an oscillator/chopper circuit (not shown) to increase thevoltage magnetically transferred to the secondary winding 250.

[0056] In operation, the robot 10 is moved to the battery rechargerstation 106 either autonomously, or by user control. The robot 10 ismoved until the sensor 268 is aligned with the target 270. The low levelcontroller 52 then sends a command to the recharger controller 262through the transceivers 264 and 266. The recharger controller 262 thencloses the relay 256 wherein power is transferred to the battery 104through the windings 250 and 252. When the battery 104 is recharged, orthe battery recharging process is interrupted by the user, the low levelcontroller 52 transmits a command to the recharger controller 262 toopen the relay 256. The robot 10 then moves away from the rechargingstation 106.

[0057]FIG. 11 shows a vector diagram that can be used to computemovement of the robot with the following equations: $\begin{matrix}{w_{1} = {{\frac{V}{R_{1}}\left( {{Sin} \propto_{1}{{{Sin}\quad \theta} - {Cos}} \propto_{1}{{Cos}\quad \theta}} \right)} + \frac{\Psi \quad L_{1}}{R_{1}}}} & (1) \\{w_{2} = {{\frac{V}{R_{2}}{Sin}\quad \theta} + \frac{\Psi \quad L_{2}}{R_{2}}}} & (2) \\{w_{3} = {{\frac{V}{R_{3}}\left( {{Sin} \propto_{3}{{{Sin}\quad \theta} + {Cos}} \propto_{3}{{Cos}\quad \theta}} \right)} + \frac{\Psi \quad L_{3}}{R_{3}}}} & (3)\end{matrix}$

[0058] where,

[0059] w₁=is the drive angular velocity of a first ball 124.

[0060] w₂=is the drive angular velocity of a second ball 124.

[0061] W₃=is the drive angular velocity of a third ball 124.

[0062] V=is the input linear velocity for the robot. V has componentsV_(x) and V_(y), where; V_(x)=|V| cos θ and V_(y)=|V| sin θ.

[0063] ψ=is the input angular velocity for the robot.

[0064] Let the angular velocity vector w=[w₁, w2, w₃]^(T).  (4)$\begin{matrix}{A = \begin{bmatrix}{- \frac{{Cos} \propto_{1}}{R_{1}}} & \frac{{Sin} \propto_{1}}{R_{1}} & \frac{L_{1}}{R_{1}} \\O & {- \frac{1}{R_{2}}} & \frac{L_{2}}{R_{2}} \\\frac{{Cos} \propto_{3}}{R_{3}} & \frac{{Sin} \propto_{3}}{R_{3}} & \frac{L_{3}}{R_{3}}\end{bmatrix}} & (5)\end{matrix}$

[0065] and the velocity vector:

V=[vx, vy, ψ]^(T)  (6)

W=A·V  (7)

[0066] The angular velocity vector w is calculated from equation (7) andcompared with the actual w valves measured by the motor encoder. Analgorithm performs an error correction routine to compensate fordifferences in the actual and desired valves.

[0067] While certain exemplary embodiments have been described and shownin the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that suchembodiments are merely illustrative of and not restrictive on the broadinvention, and that this invention not be limited to the specificconstructions and arrangements shown and described, since various othermodifications may occur to those ordinarily skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A robot system, comprising: a housing; a platformattached to said housing; a camera attached to said housing; a monitorattached to said housing; a broadband interface; and, a controller thatis attached to said housing and coupled to said broadband interface. 2.The robot system of claim 1, further comprising an arm coupled to saidhousing.
 3. The robot system of claim 2, wherein said arm includes agripper.
 4. The robot system of claim 1, further comprising a speakercoupled to said housing.
 5. The robot system of claim 1, furthercomprising a microphone coupled to said housing.
 6. The robot system ofclaim 1, further comprising a wireless transceiver coupled to saidhousing.
 7. The robot system of claim 1, further comprising a batteryrecharger station, a battery that is coupled to said housing and can becoupled to said battery recharger station, and a power managementsoftware routine wherein said holonomic platform moves said housing sothat said battery is coupled to said battery recharger station.
 8. Therobot system of claim 1, wherein said holonomic platform includes aplurality of roller assemblies.
 9. The robot system of claim 1, furthercomprising a mass storage device that is coupled to said controller andstores a video image.
 10. The robot system of claim 1, wherein saidhousing includes a drawer that moves between an open position and aclosed position.
 11. A robot, comprising: a housing that has a drawerthat moves between an open position and a closed position; a movementplatform attached to said housing; a camera attached to said housing;and, a controller that is attached to said housing and coupled to saidmovement platform.
 12. The robot of claim 11, further comprising an armcoupled to said housing.
 13. The robot of claim 12, wherein said armincludes a gripper.
 14. The robot of claim 11, further comprising aspeaker coupled to said housing.
 15. The robot of claim 11, furthercomprising a microphone coupled to said housing.
 16. The robot of claim11, further comprising a wireless transceiver coupled to said housing.17. The robot of claim 11, further comprising a battery rechargerstation, a battery that is coupled to said housing and can be coupled tosaid battery recharger station, and a power management software routinewherein said holonomic platform moves said housing so that said batteryis coupled to said battery recharger station.
 18. The robot of claim 11,further comprising a monitor attached to said housing.
 19. The robot ofclaim 11, further comprising a mass storage device that stores a videoimage.
 20. The robot of claim 11, wherein said controller runs a routineto moves said drawer to the open position at a predetermined time.
 21. Amethod for dispensing a drug to a patient, comprising: moving a robot tothe patient; and, moving a drawer of the robot to an open position, thedrawer contains the drug.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the robotis remotely controlled.
 23. The method of claim 21, wherein the draweropens at a predetermined time.
 24. A method for monitoring a patient,comprising: moving a robot to view a patient at different time intervalstwenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
 25. The method of claim 24,wherein the robot periodically moves to a battery recharger station. 26.The method of claim 24, wherein the robot is remotely controlled. 27.The method of claim 24, wherein the robot provides an existing videoimage and a pre-existing video image to a remote station.
 28. A remotecontrolled robotic system that is coupled to a broadband network,comprising: a first remote control station coupled to the network; abase station coupled to said remote control station through thebroadband network; and, a robot wirelessly coupled to said base station.29. The system of claim 28, further comprising a second remote controlstation coupled to said base station, and said robot arbitrates controlof said robot between said first and second control stations.
 30. Thesystem of claim 28, wherein said robot includes a robot camera and arobot monitor, said remote station includes a remote camera coupled tosaid robot monitor and a remote monitor coupled to said robot camera.31. The system of claim 30, wherein said robot includes a holonomicplatform attached to a housing.
 32. The system of claim 31, furthercomprising an arm coupled to said housing.
 33. The system of claim 32,wherein said arm includes a gripper.
 34. The system of claim 31, furthercomprising a speaker coupled to said housing.
 35. The system of claim31, further comprising a microphone coupled to said housing.
 36. Thesystem of claim 31, further comprising a wireless transceiver coupled tosaid housing.
 37. The system of claim 31, further comprising a batteryrecharger station, a battery that is coupled to said housing and can becoupled to said battery recharger station, and a power managementsoftware routine wherein said holonomic platform moves said housing sothat said battery is coupled to said battery recharger station.
 38. Thesystem of claim 31, wherein said holonomic platform includes a pluralityof roller assemblies.
 39. The system of claim 31, further comprising amass storage device that stores a video image.
 40. The system of claim31, wherein said housing includes a drawer that moves between an openposition and a closed position.
 41. A method for remotely operating arobot to monitor a patient, comprising: transmitting a command to move arobot, through a broadband network from a remote control station to abase station; transmitting wirelessly the command from the base stationto the robot; and, moving the robot in response to the command.
 42. Themethod of claim 41, further comprising transmitting a video image fromthe robot to the remote control station.
 43. The method of claim 41,further comprising transmitting a video image from the remote controlstation to the robot.
 44. The method of claim 41, further comprisingmoving a drawer of the robot to an open position to dispense a drug. 45.The method of claim 42, wherein an existing video image and apre-existing video image is transmitted to the remote control stationfrom the robot.
 46. The method of claim 41, wherein the robotautonomously moves to a battery recharger station.
 47. A remotecontrolled robotic system, comprising: a first remote control station; asecond remote control station; and, a robot that contains a controllerthat arbitrates access control of said robot between said first andsecond remote control stations.
 48. The system of claim 47, wherein saidrobot includes a robot camera and a robot monitor, said remote stationincludes a remote camera coupled to said robot monitor and a remotemonitor coupled to said robot camera.
 49. The system of claim 48,wherein said robot includes a holonomic platform attached to a housing.50. The system of claim 49, further comprising an arm coupled to saidhousing.
 51. The system of claim 49, wherein said arm includes agripper.
 52. The system of claim 49, further comprising a speakercoupled to said housing.
 53. The system of claim 49, further comprisinga microphone coupled to said housing.
 54. The system of claim 49,further comprising a wireless transceiver coupled to said housing. 55.The system of claim 49, further comprising a battery recharger station,a battery that is coupled to said housing and can be coupled to saidbattery recharger station, and a power management software routinewherein said holonomic platform moves said housing so that said batteryis coupled to said battery recharger station.
 56. The system of claim49, wherein said holonomic platform includes a plurality of rollerassemblies.
 57. The system of claim 49, further comprising a massstorage device that stores a video image.
 58. The system of claim 49,wherein said housing includes a drawer that moves between an openposition and a closed position.
 59. A method for remotely operating arobot to monitor a patient, comprising: transmitting a first command tomove a mobile robot from a first remote control station; transmitting asecond command to move the mobile robot from a second remote controlstation; determining which command has priority; and, moving the mobilerobot in response to the transmitted command with priority.
 60. Themethod of claim 59, further comprising transmitting a video image fromthe mobile robot to the remote control station.
 61. The method of claim59, further comprising transmitting a video image from the remotecontrol station to the mobile robot.
 62. The method of claim 59, furthercomprising moving a drawer of the mobile robot to an open position todispense a drug.
 63. The method of claim 60, wherein an existing videoimage and a pre-existing video image is transmitted to the remotecontrol station from the mobile robot.
 64. The method of claim 59,wherein the robot autonomously moves to a battery recharger station. 65.A robot, comprising: a housing; a movement platform attached to saidhousing; a camera attached to said housing; a mass storage device thatstores a pre-existing video image of a patient; and, a controllercoupled to said movement platform.
 66. The robot of claim 65, furthercomprising an arm coupled to said housing.
 67. The robot of claim 66,wherein said arm includes a gripper.
 68. The robot of claim 65, furthercomprising a speaker coupled to said housing.
 69. The robot of claim 65,further comprising a microphone coupled to said housing.
 70. The robotof claim 65, further comprising a wireless transceiver coupled to saidhousing.
 71. The robot of claim 65, further comprising a batteryrecharger station, a battery that is coupled to said housing and can becoupled to said battery recharger station, and a power managementsoftware routine wherein said holonomic platform moves said housing sothat said battery is coupled to said battery recharger station.
 72. Therobot of claim 65, wherein said movement platform includes a pluralityof roller assemblies.
 73. The robot of claim 65, wherein said controllerruns a routine to moves a drawer of said housing to an open position.74. A method for monitoring a patient, comprising: storing apre-existing video image of a patient; capturing an existing video imageof the patient; and, transmitting the pre-existing video image and theexisting video image to a remote control station.
 75. The method ofclaim 74, wherein the robot is remotely controlled.
 76. A robot system,comprising: a battery recharger station; a robot housing; a batterycoupled to said robot housing; a movement platform attached to saidrobot housing; a camera attached to said robot housing; and, acontroller that is attached to said robot housing and coupled to saidmovement platform, said controller operates a power management softwareroutine that causes said movement platform to move said robot housing sothat said battery is coupled to said battery recharger.
 77. The robotsystem of claim 76, further comprising an arm coupled to said robothousing.
 78. The robot system of claim 77, wherein said arm includes agripper.
 79. The robot system of claim 76, further comprising a speakercoupled to said robot housing.
 80. The robot system of claim 76, furthercomprising a microphone coupled to said robot housing.
 81. The robotsystem of claim 76, further comprising a wireless transceiver coupled tosaid robot housing.
 82. The robot system of claim 76, wherein saidmovement platform includes a plurality of roller assemblies.
 83. Therobot system of claim 76, further comprising a mass storage device thatstores a video image.
 84. A method for operating a robot, comprising:operating a software routine within a robot to determine whether therobot needs power; and, moving the robot to a battery recharger stationwhen the robot needs power.
 85. The method of claim 84, wherein therobot is remotely controlled.